Flooding in Nepal, India Kills At Least 180

August 18, 2014

At least 180 people have died and scores are missing after three days of monsoon rains in western Nepal and northern India set off landslides that swept away houses. At least 100 died in mudslides in Nepal and another 84 died in India over the weekend.

Relief teams on Monday sent food, tents and medicine to prevent any outbreaks of disease. Air-dropped lunch packets and water bottles were also being delivered to some villages, according to the Times of India.

It has been raining in the region since Thursday, displacing thousands in the Himalayas, making roads impassible and stranding people in their flooded homes. At least 42,000 people in India have fled to state-run relief camps.

The situation in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh worsened after dams were opened in Nepal, said Alok Ranjan, a top official in Uttar Pradesh. Along with incessant rain, the rising waters caused several rivers to breach their banks, he said.

Officials in the state reported 10 more deaths overnight, pushing its toll to 34 over the past three days.

Also in northern India, at least 50 people have died in Uttarakhand state, many of them washed away as rivers overflowed, submerging villages and fields.

State authorities said paramilitary soldiers in about 400 boats were helping to evacuate people from their homes after entire villages were marooned in northern Uttar Pradesh.

The rainy season in South Asia runs from June through September. Landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in the southern plains are common during the monsoon season.

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